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Controlled vs. Freer Google Doc

The document outlines various language practice activities categorized as controlled or freer, focusing on grammar, vocabulary, and functional use. It provides examples of classroom tasks, discusses the purpose of controlled and freer practice, and suggests methods for personalizing activities to enhance communication. Additionally, it includes a checklist for successful communicative activities and emphasizes the importance of student engagement and relevance to real-life needs.

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leena sa
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4 views

Controlled vs. Freer Google Doc

The document outlines various language practice activities categorized as controlled or freer, focusing on grammar, vocabulary, and functional use. It provides examples of classroom tasks, discusses the purpose of controlled and freer practice, and suggests methods for personalizing activities to enhance communication. Additionally, it includes a checklist for successful communicative activities and emphasizes the importance of student engagement and relevance to real-life needs.

Uploaded by

leena sa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CONTROLLED VS.

FREER ACTIVITIES

Task 1. Decide what the focus of each activity is, grammar, vocabulary or function
1. Practice G

a) Write questions
1) /usually wear perfume (aftershave)?
Do you usually wear perfume?
2) /wear perfume (aftershave) today?
3) What newspaper / usually read?
4) What / read now? Etc.

b) Play Fashion Show. A describe somebody in the room. B guess. Swap.

From English File 1, Unit 8

2. Discussion G

What would you do with two million pounds?


Work in groups. Ask and answer questions.
1. What … buy?
2. How much … give away? Who … give it to?
3. … go on holiday? Where … to?
4. What about your job? … carry on working or … give up your job? Etc.

From New Headway Intermediate, Unit 8

3. Work in groups. Guess what different students did at the weekend. Use the verbs below:
Example: Did you go to the cinema? G

listen read write watch speak have go get visit finish start buy work study ….

From The Beginner’s Choice, Unit 6

4. Work with a partner and role-play this situation. One of you is Student A and the other is Student B.
use expressions from the box. F

Student A
You’ve accidentally upset a good friend of yours by something you’ve said. You haven’t spoken for weeks. Ask
Student B for advice.

Student B
A student in your class comes to you for advice. Student A has upset a good friend and doesn’t know what to
do.

From First Certificate Star, Unit 2

5. Practice G
a) Ask questions to find at least one person in the class who at the age of twelve:
a) Wasn’t allowed to watch TV b) didn’t have to go to bed early
c) Could choose their own clothes d) had to eat certain kinds of foods

b) Think of ten other similar questions about people’s lives at the age of twelve. Go round the class
asking your questions and discuss your findings in groups.

From Intermediate Matters, Unit 14

6. In pairs, ask and answer questions about your plans for tonight, next weekend, and your next
holiday. Use the given clues. G

What are you doing / going to do tonight? Where are you going …?

I’m going to see a film / stay at home and ….

From Headway Pre-intermediate, Unit 5

7. Get talking (NB This comes after a presentation of modals of deduction) G


In pairs, choose one of the following groups of people. Then discuss what life was like for these people in
that place at that time. Think about food, places to live, religion, entertainment, work.
· Settlers on Easter Island
· Religious followers at Stonehenge thousands of years ago
· The Incas in Machu Pichu

In groups, talk about life in the area you discussed with your partner.

From Language to Go Upper Intermediate, Unit 31.

8. Discuss with a partner. Think of two: Vocab


· Things that make you angry
· Things that make a lot of noise
· Reasons why people make speeches
· Things that are made in Scotland
· Things that you can make with eggs
· Mistakes that you often make in English
From Cutting Edge Pre Intermediate, Module 15
Task 2. Decide to what extent these coursebook practice activities give controlled or
freer practice and arrange them on the cline. Use continuums (J.Harmer).

Non-communicative activities Communicative activities

· No communicative desire · A desire to communicate

· No communicative purpose · A communicative purpose

· Form not content · Content not form

· One language item only · Variety of language

· Teacher intervention · No teacher intervention

· Materials control · No materials control

• How much language is produced (words or longer texts?)

• Whose ideas are produced (teacher’s/materials’ or students’ own?)

• Whose language is produced? (teacher’s/materials’ or students’ own?)


Task 3. Practice Aims

Why do we ask students to do controlled practice activities?

Why do we ask students to do freer practice activities?

Task 4. Arrange the order of activities from the least challenging to


the most challenging.
Ways of Personalising Activities

Here are some flexible ideas for personalised practice activities. See if you can incorporate some of these
ideas into your next TPs.

1. Find someone who… /How many people in the class … ?


Good for grammar structures and lexis, question forms and short answers.

2. Personalised questions.
Lots of ways to organise these:
a. Students fill in gaps in questions /expand questions/ write endings to questions and then ask
each other.
b. You can also give different questions to each half of the class, then pair up As and Bs.
c. Students write their own questions to ask each other.
d. You give the questions and students write their answers on a piece of paper, then ask each other
about their answers.

3. Information gap grids.


Students tick grids as they find out information about different people in the class.
Do you … Student A Student B

1. Like football?

2. Enjoy watching TV?

Etc …

4. Find three differences/ things in common.


Good for structures, tenses, e.g. Find 3 things that you’ve done that your partner hasn’t. Students can
work in pairs or write sentences first, then walk around to find someone who has been to the same place/
likes the same food as them, etc.

5. Words connected to me.


Dictate a set of words on a topic and students decide if they are connected to them in any way, write them
down, then tell their partner why.

6. True or False?
Students write 2 true and 1 false sentence (e.g. in the Past Simple) about their lives, and then read them
out to the other students, who have to decide which are true and which are false.

7. Change places if …
Ss sit in a circle. Teacher starts by ‘Change places if you have brother’ (depends on TL). Then ss take
turns to add their ‘change places if…’ with TL. Further on ss can give reasons for their answers.
Ways of making Controlled Practice communicative (from Neil McCutcheon)
1. Find something in common/ interesting etc.
2. Guess your partner’s answers, then check.
3. Include a lie in your answer, your partner guesses the lie.
4. Note-taking and report back (e.g. surveys)
5. Follow-up questions: ‘the listener has to ask at least one.
6. Ss write personalised text with TL, redistribute the texts and ss guess who wrote it. Etc.

NOTE: WRITING THE AIM OF AN ACTIVITY ON THE BOARD WILL KEEP S ON TASK.

NOTE: Most of these exercises can be extended by getting students to report the answers of the activity
to a third student. For example, students A and B do a ‘Find three differences’ activity, then student A
reports the answers to student C, giving valuable 3rd person practice.

Check-list for a successful communicative activity:

 Personalised
 Productive (fluency-based)
 Relevant to ss’ real life needs
 With a communicative goal
 Practises the target language (make it clear in your instructions and include an example)
(language prep)
 Content assistance is provided (content prep)
 Includes thinking/ preparation time
 Content feedback based on the communicative goal (brief)
 Language feedback based on teacher’s notes of ss’ language (thorough)

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